Improvement in power-looms



iiiltited anni JOHN BULLo'UeH, or AooRINeToN, nNormen.V

Letters Patent 1Y0. 98,919, dated January 18, 1870; patented 'in England, July 28, 1868.

INIIEJROV'EMEN'J.-l IN PWER-LOOMS.

lhe Schedule referred lto in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all whom it may concern trivances and arrangements of mechanism, for changing, by self-acting means, the working-shuttle, in which the weft is broken or spent, for another-shuttle, with fresh weft, without stopping the loom, and so on continuously, as long as the loom is at work, or until any given number of shuttles is exhausted.

'lhe mannerin which this invention lis to be performedwill be clearlyunrlerstood by the follow-ing par- `ticular description thereof, reference being had to the figures and letters on the accompanying four sheets otdrawings in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation;

Figures 2 and 3, end elevations; and 4 Figure 4, a plan of part of Va loom, having my improvements attached.

Figures 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, l1, 12, 13, 14, and 15, are detached views of various part-s of the improvements.

Figs. 1, 2,` 3, and 4, are drawn to a scale of two inches to the foot; gs. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,11, and 12, half size; g. 10, full size; and gs. 13, 14, and 15, one-l quarter size.

a b represent the side frames oi' t-he loom;

c, thebreas't-heam;

d, the crank-shaft;

e, the fast and loose pulleys;

, the tappet-shaft;

h, the sword-arms;

t, the slay or hatten;

j, the yarn-beam;

k, the trcadles;

l, the healds;

en, the warp n, the reed;-

o, the reed-cap;

p, the picking-sticks;

q r, the pickers; and

s, the stop-rod. p

The weft-fork and hook t, the sector-hammer u, the horizontal weft-lever c, and the tappet w, on the tappet-shaft f, are the parts which constitute the ordinary weft-stopping motion in looms, and this motion I employ for calling into action the mechanism which enables the shuttles, with spent or broken weft, to be changed for fresh shuttles, with weft, without stopping the loom. Y i

The pickers g fr maybe worked by any convenient arrangement of under or overhead picking-sticks, but Il prefer to employ the ordinary under picking-sticks p, connected, byV straps x, to cams g/,con the pickingshafts z, having, near their tops, catches, which, during the backward movements ofthe stay, turn the picking-shafts, and give motion to the picking-sticks and pickers, by coming in contact with catches, on rods which are alternately raised bythe levers a? and opposite tappcts b1, on the tappet-shaft f, the rods, one of which is marked c, iig. 2, falling by their own gravity when the levers are free of the tappets. l

At one end of the slay fi, iigs. l and' 2, Iiix a tall back-board, all, and fix, near its end, perpendicular guides el, for forming a case or frame to receive a` number of shuttles, f1, lfull of weft, in such a manner that they have only alittle play endwise and sidewise.

The shuttles are dropped into the guides el, and descend, one upon another, until the bottom shuttle rests on a ledge, g1, figs. 5, 6, and 7, standing. above the slay, and it is from this ledge that the shuttles are dropped, one by one,.on to the slay, when there is breakage or absence of weft, the shuttle, with the spent or broken weft, being ejected into a receivingbox, h1, figs. 3 and 4, at the other end of the slay.

The ends -of the weft, in the shuttles in the case, are attached to a stud, k1, covered withplush cloth,

or other material, andiixed to the reed-cap o, or shutv tlc-case, it being necessary that the stud should be in such a position as not to leave a trail of weft to interfere with the weft-fork, and that position is either inside the weft-motion, or so high as to leave the weft at such angle from the stud to the edge of the cloth, as will clear the fork.

The ledge g1 forms part of a metal plate,| Z1, iigs. 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, having pivots, Working in bearingsm, screwed to the slay-plate nl, and the pivoted plate, with its ledge, is termed the shuttle-holder. When this ledgeremains inward, asshown in fig. 5, it supports the pile of shuttles f1, below which the Workingshuttle .o1 is free tobe driven `to and fro across the race of the slay. When the ledge is pulled outward, to the position seen in iig. 6, the top of the plate is moved inward, and these parts are so adjusted that before the ledge entirely leaves the bottom shuttle of the; pile, the top of the plate passes under the second shuttle of the pile, and thus only one shuttle drops on the ,slay when the ledge is pulled entirely back. The shuttle-holder, with its ledge clearl ofthe shuttles, and the'top of the plate supporting the shuttles in the case, is retained in this position by pins p1 being forced by springs q into one of two recesses r1 s1, at each end of the plate, the recesses s1 being brought opposite the spring-pins, when the plate is brought into the position described.

When the shuttle has dropped on the slay, reverse Aarrived at the back centre, and causes the shuttlein this position by the ends Vof the spring-pins enter- `holder to move inward, and the top of the plate to `move ejected with facility, there is a board, inclined 'at an at c, figs. 3 and 4. The front of the box may be make, at the back of the pickel', a semi-dovetail ledge,

armed lever, e2 f2, figs. 4, 8, 9, and 10, on a pivot fixed movement is given to the shuttle-holder, until the top of the plate moves outward, away from the edge of that which was the second shuttle, hut is now the bottom one, to allow the descent of all the shuttles, and, at the same time, the ledge passes inward and supportsY the bottom shuttle, and, also, all the others above it, as seen in fig. 5, the recesses 'rl heilig brought opposite the'spring-pins pl, when the plate is brought into the position described. v

To the shuttle-holder, below the centre, I fix or cast two ears tl, carrying a pin, to which is attached one end of a band, ul, figs. 4 and 7, the other end of which is connected to a pin in the bracket cl, fig. 4, fixed to the horizontal weft-lever c. The band is allowed sufficient length to reach to the back centre, when the horizontal lever is not forced outward by the sectorhammer u, but when the weft is spent or broken, and the horizontal 'lever forced outwardby the sectorhammer, the hand becomes tight before the slay has holder to overcome the spring-pins pl, and swivel or turn outward on its centres, to allow a fresh shuttle to be dropped on to the slay, into the working shuttlebox wl, the shuttle-holder being held for an instant ing therecesses. j

At'th lowerV` part ofthe plate' ll, of the shuttle? holder, is adj usted and fixed a screw-head, xl, and, to a part of the frame-work, is adjusted and fixed a linger, yl, which, as the slay advances to the beat-up, acts on the screw-head, and causes the ledge of the outward, for enabling the shuttles to descend, and be supported on the. ledge,ready for the next change, and the ends of the spring-pins pl spring into the recesses corresponding with thisl position of the holder. v

The weft-fork, and parts connected with it, are placed at the same side of the loom as the shuttlelxolder; and at the shuttle-box wl, on the slay, below the holder, I employ a front swell-guard, a?, figs. 1, 4, 8, and 9,'to'which is fastened a flat spring, b2, the purpose and action of which willbe hereinafter described.

In order to make room for the receiving-box hl, which receives the ejected shuttles, the side frame, at that end, is' cranked inward, and the ordinary takingnp wheels are removed to the opposite or supply-side of the loom, and, for enablingthe shuttles to be angle, downward from the edge of' the slay-plate, as

hinged to open outward, and provided with a closingspring, so that if a shuttle should be caughtlbetween the advancing slay and the front-of the box,'no damage will be done.

` To prevent the picker q, at the supply-side, from rising, as it has a tendency to do, especially when the bottom ledge of the shuttle-holder is pulled outward, and to prevent its deviatingfrom a straight line, I

and form, at the bottom of the hack-board dl, figj2, a groove, of a similar shape, to receive this ledge.

To hold back the picker q, at thesupply-side of the loom, so that it cannot interfere with the dropping of the shuttles from the shuttle-holder into the shuttlebox, I employ the following contrivance: Between the inside of the shuttle-holder, and the space occupied by the stroke or traverse of the picker, I place a twoto the slay-plate al, and the arm f2, which is toward the outer end of the shuttle-box, is knuckle-jointed".A The arm elis turned up, and placed behind the screwhead xl, fixed to the shuttle-holder, ,so that when the holder is pulled outward, for effecting achange of shuttle, the arm e2 is moved outward, and theA arm f2 inward, to cause'its end .to .stand across the course of espia the picker, which, generally, has not got back, after making its stroke, when the lever takes this position. The knuckle-joint yields to the backward rebound of the picker, and the moment the picker' has passed the `end of the arm f2, a spring, gi, closes the joint, to

place the said end of' the arm before the picker, and preventrit from coming forward to be in the way of' the dropping shuttle. When the shuttle-holder is replaced in its ordinary working-position, the two-armed lever is moved hy the screw-head, and assumes its previous position, that is, parallelto the side of' the picker, but clear of it, as seen in figs. 4 and 9.

At the supply-sideM of the loom, If have double lever, h2 j, jointed to the front of' the slay, in 'avvertical position, the top arm h2 of which lever is in contact with a bracket, k2, figs. l, 4, 8, and 9, cast to the front swell-guard al, and the lower arm j terminates in the form of' two steps or ledges, and thelever is maintained in its quiescent position by a fiat spring, l2. To the side frame a, I bolt an inclined bracket, a", just below the stop-rod tongue o, and form, ou one side of the tongue, a side projection, p, opposite the steps or ledges, and, at the other side, fix ears, carrying between them a bowl, q2, on aistud, which bowl is in line with the inclined part of the bracket nl.

To the side frame a, opposite the front edge of the stop-rod tongue o, and above thefrog r2, I tix a curved finger or projection, sz, and, at the opposite end of the stop-rod 1s, atthe delivery-side of the loom, I fix a. finger, t2, pointing toward the b ack part of the loom, which finger has, at one side, a stud, to which one end of a link, u2, is attached, the other end being linked to the inner end of a short lever, ci, figs. 1, 4,11, and 1.2,.fastened, at right angles, to a boss, wi, at the back of the back-board. l

The boss is fixed, bya set-screw, to a spindle,which works in a socket, x2, fi'xedto the back-board, and has, at its front end, anarm, used as a top swell-guard.

' The spindle projects through the socket to about the breadth of a shuttle, and from it branches, toward the end of the shuttle-box, the afore aid arm, formed as a long, deep flange, y2, which, at t 1e part z2 of its top edge, is bent inward at right angles, to form a surface to act as aswell for 'the front top edge of the shuttle to Aact upon; and the spindle is held in the socket by a collar and set-screw.

When a shuttle enters the shuttle-box wl, figs. 5' and 6, at the supply-side, during the ordinary working of the loom, it comes in contact with the front .swell a2, which threes the top arm h2 of the double lever outward, and the lower arm j inward, bringing the lower ofthe two ledges or steps, at the bottom of the lower arm, under the side projection p2, on the stoprod tongue 02, which has been raised sufficiently high bythe howl q2 running up the inclined bracket n. The tongue, riding onv this bottom ledge, is carriedr forward, with the slay, above the frog rr2, but below the curved finger s2, placed above the frog, and no stoppage of the loom takes place.

1f the shuttle is late, the ledge is not forced under the side projection pl, and the tongue has nothing to support it against the downward pull of' the stop-rod spring b3, when the bowl q2 gets sufficiently far from the back centre as to lose the support of the inclined bracket u2, and, therefore, the tongue is pulled against the frog, and causes the stoppage of the loom.

When the shuttle enters the shuttle-box c"l at the other side of' the loom, it, glides under the top swell z2, andA causes the bossw2 to tum, to bringa small finger, d,w hich passes through and is fixed to the boss in position for resisting the upward movement ofthe tinger t2,on that end of the stop-rod, thus arresting the downward movement of the tongue at the other end of the stop-rod, for enabling it to' clear the frog, and

v prevent the stoppage of the loom.

When the shdt-tle is late, the top swell z is not lifted by it in time to place the finger d3 in position for resisting the upward movement of the fin ger t2, and, therefore, the stop-.rod tongue is left free to be pulled down by the stop-rod spring b, so that it can come in zontact with the frog, and cause the stoppage of theV com.

The flanged Vpart y2 of the .top swell acts as a guard, andprevents the shuttle from being precipitated for- .ward olf the slay, when the slay changes its direction suddenly' from forward to backward; but, if this flange is raised, so as to leave the shuttle free on its frontl side,the shuttle will be thrown oh" by the forward impetus it has acquired in going from the back to the front.

I now proceed to explain how the absence or breakage of the weft causes this flange y2 to be so raised for allowing the shuttle to be ejected.

4in it to pass under the side projection p2 of, the stop- Vrod tongue o2,-which has b een raised sufficiently high for the purpose by the bowl q2, attached to it, ascending the inclined bracket a2. As the slay advances, the stop-rod tongue is carried, resting on this top ledge, until it comes on the lower part of the` curved projection s, placed above the frog frz,- aud, as the slay continues to advance, the tongue is forced upward, causing the stop-rod itself to have more motion than it has in the ordinary working of the loom, the effect of which is to depress the finger t, on the other end of the stop-rod, to such an extent as to cause thelink u2 Vto pnli down the shortl lever o2, on the boss to2, andl raise the top swell-guard until its flange y2 clears the empty shuttle, which is, therefore, precipitated off/the slay into the receiving-box h. -The arm of the short lever c2, figs. 1, 4, 11, and 12, which is attached to the boss, is continued past the other side of the boss, to form an arm, f, which is cranked downward from a little past the boss to near the end, where it is cranked up to the original level. A comm'on flat loom-spring, g, fixed toward the end of the back-board, is made to press on this arm f3 of the lever near the boss, the end of the arm being clear of the spring, as seen in iig. 11. v

When the shuttle is entering the box c, itl meets with slight resistance from thetop swell until it gets v out of the yarn, because the spring g3, acting so near the boss, has not much power to cause the swell to resist the power of thc shuttle to raise it, but the height the shuttle has forced the swell upward, by the time 'is getting clear of the yarn, brings the end ofthe arm f nearer to the broad and fixed end of the spring, as seen in iig. 12, thus putting lmore drag or check ou the shuttle, and enabling the ordinary leather chec strap to be dispensed'with.

For the other side of the loom, I check the shuttle on a similar principle, the mechanical arrangement being slightly varied, to adapt it to the front swell. I rivet the spring b2, figs. 1, 8, and 9, to the front swellguard a?, the end of which spring is an eighth of an inch or so from touching the turned-up end of the arm e2, held by the screw-head x1, fixed to the shuttle-holder. The shuttle, therefore, on iirst entering the box, meets with very little resistance, but that resistance is increased when the spring begins to bend against the arm e2, and give the necessary check to the shuttle; but the parts should be so adjusted that the swell will not be forced outward so far as to bring the spring against the arm until the shuttle has got clear, or nearlyy clear of the yarn.

When the shuttle, with spent or broken weft,- has been'ejected from the slay, the picker on thatside will make a blank pick, because there will be no shuttie tothrow across; and, unless there is a substitute weft, the hook of the weft-fork willbe caught by the sector-hammer, and the changing motion be repeated unnecessarily; and, to prevent this from taking place, I employ a cross-formed slide as a substitute for the weft.

'lo the front of the slay, I joint a two-armed lever, k3 l, figs. 1, 13, and 14,.the arm l3 being a little above the stop-rod tongue o, and the other arm, la, near the front end, m3, of a cross-shaped slide, n30, there being a part, p, of the slide which projects a short distancf` from the back of theslay.

formof a cross, to receive the slide, the groovel being made sntiiciently wide to allow the slide to be moved to and fro in line with the slay.

When a change of shuttle is about to take place, the stop-rod tongue is carried by the upper ledge of Vthe lower arm jl of the two-armed lever hij, iig. 2, and landed on the curved projection s2. 'lhe stop-rod tongue, on ascending the curved projection,acts on the bottom of the arm Z3, thereby causing the arm k3 to press against the end n3 of the cross-slide, and move it in the groove of the slay until one end of the partA o3 of the cross-slide s laid across the weft-grate g3, and acts on the fork as weft at the time the blank pick is given, and the cross-slide is moved back in proper time blank pick, in the following manner:

To the top of the picking-shaft z, on that side of the loom, I iix a short linger, si, iig. 14, and place, on a stud in the bracket t3, a double lever, u ci. The finger s3 partakes of the motion of the picking-shaft, and acts on the double lever, forcing the arm a backward, and the arm c3 forward against the protruding end p3 of the slide, thereby causing the slide to 'move back in its groove to the position it was in before the stop-rod tongue, by ascending the inclined projection, placed one end of the part o of the slide in position to act on the weft-fork as substitute weft.,

. As it is impossible to stop the loom', the moment the weft breaks or becomes spent, it is necessary, to avoid a thin place or crack in the cloth, to let backas much of the cloth as has wound on the cloth-beam from the time of the weft breaking to the time the loom is stopped. I may place below the ordinary ratchetwheel a, iig. l5, of the taking-up motion, a stud, b4, on which swivels a double lever, having one arm, c, terminating in a segment, d, of a ratchet-wheel, the other arm, et, being weighted, so that the ratchet-end is raised in contact with the teeth of the ratchetwheel. l llVhen the weft-motion is brought into action, through the breakage or absence of weft, the horizontal weftlever c, acting on the vertical finger f4, with which it is in contact, causes the holding-catch y4 and the taking-up catch h4 to be lifted, and the tension of the warp immediately sets in reverse motion the takingup wheels, the ratchet-wheel ai forming one of these, and, being geared into the segmental ratchet-.wheel di, forces the double lever, of which it forms a part, to

is only arrested by the opposite or preponderating arm e* of the lever being 'brought in contact -with a stud, t, tixed to the loom-side, which stud is sufhciently strong to overcome the tension of the yarn, and check the reverse motion of the wheels.

may be so placed as to let back any given number of picks.

to act on the welt-fork in the absence of the usual The slay is grooved beneath the slay-plate nl in the v by the motion of the pick immediately succeeding the describe part of a-revolution on its stud, which motion v The stud it, or Vletting-back stop, is adjustable, and

1. The swivel shuttle-holder g l1, actuated one way bythe horizontal weft-lever c and band al, and the other way bythe projecting finger 11, in combination with the recesses lr1 sland spring-pins p1.

2. The two-armed lever e2 f2, in connection with the front swell a2 b2 and screw-head xl, for holding back the picker at the supply-side of the loom, when required. f

3. The double vlever hzj, with its two ledges, in cornhination with the incline u2, bowl qi', and enrv'ed or inclined finger s2.

4. The ange and top swell y2 z2, in combination with the parts t2, ell,- c, x2, wz, d, f3, and g, for acting as a swell and guard, and for allowing the escape of the shuttle when raised.

5. The cross-shaped slide 03,'igs.. 13 and 14, worked one way by the upright lever 7a3 Za and stop-rod tongue, and the other way by the horizontal lever u3 fvg, and also by the short linger s3, at the top of one of the picking-shafts, for the purpose herein specified.

Done at Manchester, England, this 30th day of April, in the year of our Lord 1869.

Witnesses: J OHN- BULLOUGH.

G. F. HUGHES, Patent Agent,

ll Black FM'afrs Street, Manchester. G. SEPTIMUS HUGHES, Patent Agent,

1l Black FM'ars Street, Manchester. 

